Tastemaker Awards

Tastemaker Awards party salutes the best in Dallas restaurants in 2025

Foodies from all across Dallas showed up for the 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, celebrating Dallas' top restaurants, bars, and chefs who've led the local dining scene most in the past year.

After months of buildup, the winners were revealed at an awards ceremony and tasting event on on Thursday, May 1 at the Astoria Event Venue in Irving.

The presentation of the awards was the pinnacle in a night of food and drink, in which more than a dozen nominated chefs and restaurants served up delicious bites, while bartenders crafted cocktails incorporating spirits from event sponsors including: Still Austin Whiskey and Hornitos Tequila, along with Pennsyvania-based Yuengling Beer, who served their traditional lager as well as Flight, their light lager.

There were specialty cocktails from Silent Pool Gin (English G&T), Hornitos Tequila (Hornitos Paloma, ranch water, and neat), Reyka Vodka (Reyka espresso martini and cucumber martini), and Still Austin Whiskey (Still Austin old fashioned, plus neat pours of Straight and Cask Strength Bourbon and Rye Whiskey).

Alcohol-free options included the Honey Berry Fizz from Punch Bowl Social, the Cucumber Garden mocktail from Seedlip, and an irresistible pistachio espresso martini from Ritual Zero Proof.

Saratoga Spring Water kept everyone hydrated, and also dispensed goody bags containing a box of chocolates, notepad & pen, wine key, key chain, and bottle of water to the nominees. Brioche Gourmet handed out rich bread items to all attendees.

The tastiest plates of the night included Chicken kofta meatballs from Goodwins, Peking duck wraps and spicy tuna cones from Komodo, Salmon bowl box and sesame rice noodles from Loro (served in a cool take-out box), rigatoni Genovese from Perch Bistro, pimento cheese and Benton's country ham sandwiches from The Porch, and pineapple char siu pulled pork baos from Scout at the Statler.

Favorite sweet options included strawberry matcha and pink champagne macarons from Ollio Patisserie, and a medley of treats from LA 57 that included mini almond croissants, mini cannoli, and mini cajeta empanadas. Caffeine fans were rewarded with honey lavender cold brew from Well Grounded Coffee and iced coffee from Whataburger.

After all that eating and drinking, it was time for the awards, delivered by charming emcee Mark Schechtman. For weeks leading up to the event, we published a special editorial series that highlighted nominees in nine categories. Winners were chosen by a panel of local food and beverage experts — except for the category of Best New Restaurant, which was voted on by readers in a bracket-style competition online.

$Dallas Tastemaker Awards\u200b$

Ashley Gongora

Attendees vie for strawberry matcha macarons from Ollio Patisserie at the Dallas Tastemaker Awards

These winners were announced and presented with glass trophies, as the crowd enthusiastically cheered for each one:

Rising Star Chef of the Year: Roman Murphy, Perch Bistro
Pastry Chef of the Year: Ryan Stipp, Omni PGA Frisco Resort & Spa
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: The Porch
Bar of the Year: Columbian Country Club
Best Coffee Shop: Merit Coffee
Best Eatertainment: Chicken N Pickle
Best New Restaurant: Nikki Greek Bistro & Lounge
Chef of the Year: Jeff Bekavac, Goodwins
Restaurant of the Year: Mister Charles

A portion of the proceeds benefited Harvest Project Food Rescue, an indigenous led environmental nonprofit fighting food insecurity by redirecting surplus produce to DFW communities each week.

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Hungry to be a part of it all next year? You can read about all the winners here, and we'll see you in 2026. The Tastemaker Awards ceremony is brought to you by The Yuengling Company, Brioche Gourmet, Still Austin Whiskey, Hornitos, Whataburger, Reyka Vodka, Silent Pool Gin, and PicMe Events. A portion of the proceeds benefitted our nonprofit partner, Harvest Project Food Rescue.

awards bests tastemaker awards

Closure News

Mexican bar and restaurant on Dallas' Ross Ave closes after only 4 months

dallas.culturemap.com

A Mexican hangout from San Diego has departed Dallas: El Chingon, which served Mexican food, cocktails, and a clubby atmosphere near downtown at 3404 Ross Ave., closed on Sunday, September 6, after a mere four months.

The venue, which opened its doors on May 1, blamed the closure on the city of Dallas' code compliance department, citing repeated procedural issues that ultimately persuaded the operators that closing was the only option.

The short lifespan has to be a record, especially given the extensive investment made on the space — an abrupt ending to what was a prolonged birthing by GBOD Hospitality Group, the San Diego owners, who invested more than four years and millions of dollars to get it open.

"Our goal was simple: give Dallas the best, most Chingón experience we possibly could," their statement said. "And Dallas showed up for us…. Unfortunately, almost from the beginning, operating that vision became a constant fight with the City."

"We dealt with repeated Code Compliance visits, citations, and ongoing challenges to our Certificate of Occupancy and restaurant use," their post said. "Over time, it became increasingly clear that El Chingón simply was not what the City wanted us to be. Events, programming, dancing, the way we used our space — nearly every part of the experience became another opportunity to find fault with our identity."

El Chingon operated as a high-energy restaurant, bar, and nightlife destination known for its “Bad Ass Mexican” cuisine. The concept was founded in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter in 2017, where it built a following for its lively programming and street-food menu of tacos, burritos, and shareable bites.

It's part of GBOD Hospitality Group, a San Diego outfit founded by brothers Raymond and Patrick Davoudi, with third partner Joe Santos, who owns San Diego bars such as Havana and Prohibition Lounge. Dallas was the third El Chingon, following San Diego and Fort Worth, where a location opened in 2020 and has not experienced the issues that befell the Dallas outpost.

The company first acquired the Dallas location in 2022, and began what felt like a never-ending period of reconstruction and renovation of the rundown brick structure, first built in 1945, which years ago had been home to a wholesale floral shop.

"We made changes," they said. "We worked with City officials. We worked with the neighborhood. We hired consultants and attorneys. We met with elected officials. We repeatedly tried to find a reasonable path forward while continuing to operate the restaurant we spent millions of dollars building. Instead, the scrutiny intensified."

"Eventually, there comes a point where fighting City Hall becomes a bigger part of running the business than serving the people who came through our doors. So, City Hall wins this round."

They've since put the property up for sale but did hint that they might reopen, stating that "we have not given up on Dallas."

"We still believe in this city. We still believe there is a place here for what El Chingón does. And we hope that in the coming years, we will have the opportunity to invest in Dallas again and once more be part of this community," they said. 'For now, thank you, Dallas. For every taco. Every tequila. Every celebration. Every packed night. Every memory. Stay Chingón. This isn’t goodbye forever."

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